<p>When the world gathered in Belém, Brazil, for COP30 in November 2025, expectations were unusually high. Having fallen short in previous years, there was hope that this Amazon-hosted summit would provide the transformative push needed for systemic solutions—particularly in sectors at the crossroads of climate mitigation and adaptation, livelihoods, and sustainable development. Among these, the recycling and waste-management sector, with a potential to reduce approximately 20.4 Gt of CO₂ annually, stood out as a critical but under-recognised pillar of climate action.</p>.<p>Unlike previous COPs, Belém formally hosted a dedicated “Circular Economy Day” on November 11, 2025–the first time the circular economy received a full-day spotlight at a COP. This formed part of the official thematic programme of COP30, elevating the issue beyond side events to a core agenda item. Even though COP30 did not include a dedicated section on waste management or recycling in its final decision texts, the sector was referenced indirectly within three major strategic elements of the COP30 outcome package. </p>.<p><strong>Why recycling is central to climate action</strong></p>.<p>Global material consumption has tripled since 1970 and may double again by 2060 (OECD), driving resource extraction, pollution, and emissions. Around 45% of global emissions linked to material production and disposal (UNEP) can be reduced directly by recycling and circular economy approaches.</p>.<p>Landfill methane—which contributes about 20% of global methane emissions—can be curbed through proper source segregation and diversion of waste. Emissions avoided through reduced extraction impacts on forests, water, and biodiversity are well documented. Recycling also offers significant gains: aluminium (up to 95% CO2 reduction), steel (60–74% reduction), and plastics (30–80% energy savings). The sector employs over 20 million people globally, with women and informal workers forming the backbone of collection and sorting systems. Despite its climate relevance, recycling remained peripheral at COP30. Yet this should not be seen as a failure. Instead, it opened a window for governments, industries, civil society, and climate negotiators to bring recycling into mainstream climate policy.</p>.<p><strong>India’s strategic opportunity</strong></p>.<p>India, with its vast material demand and deep informal recycling network, can convert COP30 signals into national leadership while advancing implementation of its nationally determined contributions (NDCs).</p>.<p>It can unlock adaptation, nature, and just-transition finance by positioning recycling as core climate infrastructure. Climate resilience depends on effective waste systems: plastic-clogged drains worsen floods, disasters generate large waste volumes, heat stress increases landfill fires, and climate migration raises waste loads. Recycling must therefore be integrated into climate finance through adaptation funds, just-transition mechanisms, green bonds, and carbon markets.</p>.<p>Key actions include embedding circular economy targets in India’s NDCs (2026–2030), including recycled-content mandates, landfill methane reduction, and circular public procurement; formalising over two million waste workers through just-transition finance while supporting women-led units; strengthening South–South cooperation on recycling technologies and carbon markets; positioning India as a Global South circular hub with partners such as Brazil; and leveraging corporate climate action to expand Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), green procurement, and demand for recycled materials across sectors.</p>.<p>For India—home to one of the world’s largest informal recycling networks—COP30 presents a strategic window to strengthen domestic systems and turn recycling into a key driver of ambitious climate action.</p>.<p>COP30 was not the breakthrough the recycling sector hoped for in terms of ambitious targets, dedicated waste agreements or major declarations that elevated recycling to the level of energy or forest priorities. But policy windows do not always appear as revolutions—they often emerge as a series of enablers, each of which can be shaped and steered into a transformation.</p>.<p>COP30 delivered such enablers as expanded climate finance, just-transition mechanisms, resource conservation frameworks, integration of circular economy into global trade and carbon markets and renewed political momentum for holistic solutions.</p>.<p>If leveraged by stakeholders such as MRAI, BIR, ISRI, governments, and industry, COP30 could be remembered not for immediate outcomes but for what it enabled. </p>.<p>In that sense, COP30 is not the game-changer—but it may be the moment the world began preparing for one. This momentum will be carried forward to future COPs. </p>.<p>Given its leadership and priority on climate adaptation, India has a unique and unprecedented opportunity to start mainstreaming waste management and circularity in its engagements as well as to encourage UNFCCC and COP processes to do so and illustrate how the goals of the Paris Agreement are unpacked and implemented. </p>.<p>History shows that breakthroughs often begin with enablers—not declarations.</p>.<p><em><strong>Bineesha is an advisor at MRAI and Ovais is a former UNFCCC deputy executive secretary</strong></em></p><p><em>(Disclaimer: The views expressed above are the author's own. They do not necessarily reflect the views of DH.)</em></p>
<p>When the world gathered in Belém, Brazil, for COP30 in November 2025, expectations were unusually high. Having fallen short in previous years, there was hope that this Amazon-hosted summit would provide the transformative push needed for systemic solutions—particularly in sectors at the crossroads of climate mitigation and adaptation, livelihoods, and sustainable development. Among these, the recycling and waste-management sector, with a potential to reduce approximately 20.4 Gt of CO₂ annually, stood out as a critical but under-recognised pillar of climate action.</p>.<p>Unlike previous COPs, Belém formally hosted a dedicated “Circular Economy Day” on November 11, 2025–the first time the circular economy received a full-day spotlight at a COP. This formed part of the official thematic programme of COP30, elevating the issue beyond side events to a core agenda item. Even though COP30 did not include a dedicated section on waste management or recycling in its final decision texts, the sector was referenced indirectly within three major strategic elements of the COP30 outcome package. </p>.<p><strong>Why recycling is central to climate action</strong></p>.<p>Global material consumption has tripled since 1970 and may double again by 2060 (OECD), driving resource extraction, pollution, and emissions. Around 45% of global emissions linked to material production and disposal (UNEP) can be reduced directly by recycling and circular economy approaches.</p>.<p>Landfill methane—which contributes about 20% of global methane emissions—can be curbed through proper source segregation and diversion of waste. Emissions avoided through reduced extraction impacts on forests, water, and biodiversity are well documented. Recycling also offers significant gains: aluminium (up to 95% CO2 reduction), steel (60–74% reduction), and plastics (30–80% energy savings). The sector employs over 20 million people globally, with women and informal workers forming the backbone of collection and sorting systems. Despite its climate relevance, recycling remained peripheral at COP30. Yet this should not be seen as a failure. Instead, it opened a window for governments, industries, civil society, and climate negotiators to bring recycling into mainstream climate policy.</p>.<p><strong>India’s strategic opportunity</strong></p>.<p>India, with its vast material demand and deep informal recycling network, can convert COP30 signals into national leadership while advancing implementation of its nationally determined contributions (NDCs).</p>.<p>It can unlock adaptation, nature, and just-transition finance by positioning recycling as core climate infrastructure. Climate resilience depends on effective waste systems: plastic-clogged drains worsen floods, disasters generate large waste volumes, heat stress increases landfill fires, and climate migration raises waste loads. Recycling must therefore be integrated into climate finance through adaptation funds, just-transition mechanisms, green bonds, and carbon markets.</p>.<p>Key actions include embedding circular economy targets in India’s NDCs (2026–2030), including recycled-content mandates, landfill methane reduction, and circular public procurement; formalising over two million waste workers through just-transition finance while supporting women-led units; strengthening South–South cooperation on recycling technologies and carbon markets; positioning India as a Global South circular hub with partners such as Brazil; and leveraging corporate climate action to expand Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), green procurement, and demand for recycled materials across sectors.</p>.<p>For India—home to one of the world’s largest informal recycling networks—COP30 presents a strategic window to strengthen domestic systems and turn recycling into a key driver of ambitious climate action.</p>.<p>COP30 was not the breakthrough the recycling sector hoped for in terms of ambitious targets, dedicated waste agreements or major declarations that elevated recycling to the level of energy or forest priorities. But policy windows do not always appear as revolutions—they often emerge as a series of enablers, each of which can be shaped and steered into a transformation.</p>.<p>COP30 delivered such enablers as expanded climate finance, just-transition mechanisms, resource conservation frameworks, integration of circular economy into global trade and carbon markets and renewed political momentum for holistic solutions.</p>.<p>If leveraged by stakeholders such as MRAI, BIR, ISRI, governments, and industry, COP30 could be remembered not for immediate outcomes but for what it enabled. </p>.<p>In that sense, COP30 is not the game-changer—but it may be the moment the world began preparing for one. This momentum will be carried forward to future COPs. </p>.<p>Given its leadership and priority on climate adaptation, India has a unique and unprecedented opportunity to start mainstreaming waste management and circularity in its engagements as well as to encourage UNFCCC and COP processes to do so and illustrate how the goals of the Paris Agreement are unpacked and implemented. </p>.<p>History shows that breakthroughs often begin with enablers—not declarations.</p>.<p><em><strong>Bineesha is an advisor at MRAI and Ovais is a former UNFCCC deputy executive secretary</strong></em></p><p><em>(Disclaimer: The views expressed above are the author's own. They do not necessarily reflect the views of DH.)</em></p>
